3 Answers
3

Testing certifications are largely mushroomed due to some cynical employer giving more importance to apiece of paper than trusting a human resource more.
I know that many Orgs use it to filter candidates for interview. And then there are companies which force their employees to write these certifications so that they could show case it to their clients.

I just don't find any relation between skills of a tester and certification.
So far in my career I have seen, non certified skilled testers, certified skilled tester, non certified bad tester and certified bad tester. See, no relation.

@Tarun, certification in and by itself certainly isn't any guarantee for quality. It does show a willingnes to improve and as such I wouldn't dismiss it alltogether. If I were a recruiter, it would be a +1 for that person on my checklist (if it were the only +1, no hire offcourse). Talking about +1's, +1 to you to <g>.
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Lieven KeersmaekersMar 11 '11 at 7:27

Actually, some savvy employers are starting to say "if you have a certificate: we won't hold it against you", or even that they use it as an anti-filter - they discard any CV that mentions it. A very poorly regarded cert can become an indication of poor judgment.
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testerabMar 11 '11 at 21:25

@testerab I agree with you. A certification can be +1 or -1. The sign is up to level of certification and employer. That's the reason why I want to know the value of the certification.
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EonilMar 12 '11 at 4:45

The use of the term "evil" should tell you that this is an issue which people have extremely strong feelings about. I'm not going into the debate here, because I don't think Stack Overflow is a suitable site for it. Read the links you find from searching for those terms (there is really no shortage of debate out there), and decide for yourself.

Your friend should be aware that the syllabus seems very outdated. You will not learn about anything that's happened in the last ten years or so. I don't think anyone learns much from these courses that they can apply at work - just as the other commenters say.

I fully agree, and I have ISTQB Foundation + Advanced Test Analyst. This paper just says you are familiar with some concepts, which often are very subjective (I mean exam answer key). Certificates don't say anything about person skills. Like MSc in CS - it says nothing about how skillful programmer you are.
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yoosibaMar 14 '11 at 23:16

I went for my Foundation Level Certification last year and it's basically just a piece of paper saying you know a lot of technical terms. I did learn a lot, but unfortunately most of it can't be put into practice at my site.

My theory on any certification is that it shows your employer or prospective employers that you've spent the time and effort to keep up your skills. When I review resumes of potential candidates I will favour a candidate that has a history of taking courses or certifications to sharpen their skills.